episode_0137

Although time is a concept of people.

It is truly value-neutral and can either bring joy or take it away.

Also, time is so amazing that it changes its appearance freely depending on its partner.

To someone who is always busy, it is gold, but to someone who is in pain, it is worthless than a stone.

However, this is an idea about time that most people would agree on.

Time really does pass quickly.

“Han Sejun, you are working hard today too. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Ah, yes, thank you. Since I’m about to compete, I want to finish it off properly.”

“You have a good attitude, hehe.”

When Sejun comes out of the training room after finishing his personal training, a woman in a cute cat costume gives Sejun a towel to wipe off his sweat.

She is a school employee in charge of the academy’s private training room, and is quite popular because she is quite a beauty.

Aren’t there many people who stop by the training room to get a glimpse of her?

Of course, Sejun does not visit this place for that purpose.

“Thank you. Isn’t it because I’m always in the training room too late that I can’t even get off work?”

“Hehe, no. It’s crew work anyway. Today I am just in charge of the night shift.”

“Ah… Well, I guess so. Haha.”

She smiled brightly at Sejun and said hello, and Sejun smiled as if she was reciprocating.

‘Ha, now that I think about it, the competition is next week. Time really flies.’

Time really flies.

When I found out that I was going to Africa, there was roughly half a year left.

When I came to, I realized that there were only about two weeks left. Did someone erase time?

There is no doubt that the time has been money for Sejun.

As Sejun wipes his sweat with a towel given to him by an employee and is rummaging through his personal locker, he feels a cool breeze coming from somewhere.

[Hehe.]

When I raised my eyes and looked there, I saw a short girl with an unusual hairstyle smiling with the corners of her mouth raised.

Well, to be exact, the sound of her laughing was just conveyed through her special ability, so on the outside, she was just making a cold joke.

“Yue.”

[ha? Sejun. Do you know that the corners of your mouth are truly a sight to behold?]

The corners of his mouth rose strangely, and he almost said, “You too,” but Sejun kept his mouth shut.

If he made an excuse here, his side wouldn’t be left with fingers jabbing with resentment.

She, too, appears to have practiced, and traces of dried sweat can be seen on her forehead.

As a non-combatant, she hasn’t done much training until now, so perhaps she was waiting for Sejun.

Seeing that he was holding two towels in his hands, it seems like he might be right.

“Ah, thank you. I really like this towel.”

[…] .]

As Sejun smirked as he took the towel from her hand and wrapped it around her neck, the frowning around her eyes gradually eased as if she was astonished, and she ended up sighing.

“Ha, it’s okay. Don’t make me into that narrow-minded person.”

“Yes, I’m sorry. Have you waited long?”

“No. I didn’t wait particularly long. Hmm… No, to be exact, I waited a bit, but I would say it wasn’t boring.”

Yue shrugs her shoulders and looks somewhere.

As Sejun follows where her gaze is directed, he sees something more interesting than expected.

“She’s a woman I really don’t like. Still, I have to say it’s a bit amazing.”

“Oh… .”

“It’s already been three hours. Since I am a person with poor mana sensitivity, it must be quite painful.”

Sejun’s gaze was directed to the magic room in one corner of the training hall.

It is a place where strong magical energy flows, and it is a place that Sejun often visits to check his body’s magical circuits and improve his luminescence practice.

The person sitting there is Yoon Sia, who has already been involved in quite a bad relationship.

And beneath her feet was a strange drawing of a magic circle that looked as if it had been stirred up here and there at random.

That’s right, it’s a magic circle.

“What is a magic circle? Did the dean come?”

“No. It’s what you were drawing. From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem to have a special effect like the professor’s, but rather it seems to be concentrating the magic power of the magic room in one place.”

“Hmm.”

Sejun also knows what her special ability is. Of course, you can’t know.

And even the side effects of that ability.

‘Instead of gaining physically strong power, the magic sensitivity is extremely low.’

A substance called mana given to this world by Dean Northmund.

Of course, the demons were foaming at the mouth, saying it wasn’t given by Northmund and was just a show, but Sejun didn’t believe it.

On the day that mana was given to the world, Sejun saw the scene on television and felt the presence of the substance called mana that evening.

He proved it with his own body, so how could he not believe it?

Although Dean Northmund is a somewhat bitter and complicated person by Sejun’s standards, it is still something that must be acknowledged.

‘but.’

However, if you look deeper into mana, it is a very dangerous substance.

Isn’t this a substance that alters reality, ignores the laws of physics, and completely distorts deterrence?

In addition, when ordinary people are exposed to dense mana, their bodies can become necrotic.

The same goes for those who awaken this ability and manipulate mana.

If you fail to manage your mana even a little, the exact reaction will be inflicted on your body.

I had the experience of vomiting blood several times while learning Dean Northmund’s exercises.

Therefore, Sejun knows how great a physical burden it will be for a person who is not suited to mana to be surrounded by dense mana.

“It looks painful.”

“Yes… To be honest, I would say I’m sick of it.”

Although she was trying to keep a calm expression, the pain emanating from her face in the center of the magic circle was impossible to hide.

“What cannot be done cannot be done. There’s no way that your mana sensitivity can increase like that.’

“You may be nervous as the competition approaches. In times like now, conditioning is important. That kind of thing is counterproductive.”

How can you do such a ridiculous thing?

Sejun bit his lip.

It would be better to develop one’s own abilities rather than using such ignorant methods.

As your ability grows, your magic level also increases.

If you do that, you’re just torturing your own body without any meaning… .

‘uh?’

Sejun, who was concentrating his attention on scanning the inside of her body, frowned and scratched his cheek.

Of course, I was just reading the flow of mana from a distance. It wasn’t actually scanned properly from up close.

Therefore, there may be errors.

‘There’s less internal opposition than I thought?’

Although the amount was very small, the magic flowing inside her was moving along her mana circuit without any resistance.

It’s amazing. Does this mean that at least all of the magic power inside the body can be controlled?

“Yue, have you ever scanned Yuncia’s mana?”

“No, is that possible? Plus, it’s even more impossible when you’re in such thick mana.”

“Yes.”

Well, this is the average for people with general abilities. It might seem like I’m bragging a little, but it was true that Sejun was special.

Thanks to that, Sejun, who had nothing else to say, nodded and looked at her again.

Her chest, the pounding heart inside it. The feeble mana that comes out of the heart is scattering mana throughout the body like blood cells entering the capillaries.

It looks similar to his own practice, Luminescence.

Probably not what the dean taught me. It is too crude to be a practice method.

Did she realize it on her own while looking for a way to improve herself?

“Hmm.”

“Ha… I heard you do this whenever you get the chance. I’m really getting sick of it now, Sejun.”

Sejun crosses his arms and places his hand on her chin as he looks at her breasts.

Yue’s sigh is heard next to him.

Of course, Sejun is not looking at it but looking at the inside, but it may not be what it seems on the outside.

Also, he touched his chin as if he was giving a review and hummed.

“Huh? Why are you like this, Yue.”

“… No, it’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t say anything. Because only my mouth hurts.”

Yue touches her forehead and sighs loudly.

It seems that she also happens to be a good person.

Sejun, who didn’t know the reason, just put on his usual blank expression and said he didn’t know the reason.

*

“I didn’t know you would provide such great support.”

“Uh-huh, my granddaughter spends my pocket money to give her a gift. Is it okay because I don’t have the money to spare?”

I looked around and let out a small expression of admiration.

I saw a square storage box full of guns that had just been produced and felt like new.

And the boxes are filling the warehouse. There will be hundreds, if not thousands, of boxes.

“This is the new magic gun. I heard that safety has not yet been properly verified.”

“Yes, that’s right. But now is not the time to cover it up. The effect can be verified in practice.”

“… Is that okay?”

Taesan Jang laughs lightly at my puzzled words.

“Well, it can’t be helped. Because time is running out. Although the gun sometimes explodes, the average result shows that a soldier with this new TS-11 is more than three times more likely to survive a battle with monsters than a soldier with a regular rifle.◦ @◦

“What… If so.”

I didn’t really mean to make a fuss. Rather, I thought I had received too much.

In the past, Taesan Jang asked me for a deal.

‘Be sure to kill all the devils.’

In fact, rather than a transaction, it was more like a reaffirmation of my goal. Because his demands and my goals were 100% exactly the same.

So I took the deal.

And as per the deal, Jang Taesan provided me with an enormous amount of military supplies.

This is not about using the power of the president, but purely using his personal slush funds.

Yes, he kept his promise. Yes, that is true.

“Ah. I don’t know if my granddaughter told you, but I’m talking about troops to be sent from Korea.”

“… Is that really okay?”

In response to my answer, Taesan Jang nods his head with a warm, friendly smile.

What Jang A-hyeon told me when she came to see me earlier was refreshing and a little worrisome.

Originally, there were not many troops to participate in my expedition in Korea. Approximately two divisions.

Of course, this is the first deployment, and additional troops may be sent depending on changes in the front, but that is how it was on the surface.

─But the scale of the expeditionary force that my grandfather will send is much larger.

─To what extent?

─Hehe, don’t be surprised when you hear it?

“No matter what, they will send more than half of the Korean troops. I wonder if it’s too much.”

“… Mr. Northmund.”

At that moment, Jang Tae-san’s eyes, wearing a fedora, shake frighteningly.

Jang Tae-san, who wore a good-natured mask and pretended to be a kind old man. The atmosphere he created is completely shattered, no matter what it is.

It’s to the point where I even forget what kind of person I was.

“… Hmm?”

Taesan Jang’s eyes, after taking off his mask, turn in this direction.

And countless emotions are reflected in those seemingly insensitive eyes.

This may be the first time this old man shows this kind of expression. It’s probably just a handful.

He is such a thorough old man.

“… What? Have you suddenly gone crazy?”

“Mr. Northmund.”

It is understandable that Jang Ah-hyeon was afraid of this old man in the past. To be honest, the moment I faced those crazy eyes, I was quite embarrassed.

The cold eyes are shaking.

“Ah, maybe it’s not enough. I’m just sorry that I couldn’t send you everything.”

“… .”

“And this is also my revenge.”

“Revenge?”

Jang Tae-san continues speaking with the corners of his mouth curled wide, seemingly sadistic.

“Revenge. yes. I have never forgotten it for a moment. This is my revenge on those who have been controlling my life. Living the life they laid out for me, I always felt empty. I wasn’t really interested in everything.”

His eyes became eerie.

It is clearly an eyeball with black pupils and whites, but the eyes are colored with such madness that one might mistake them for being stained with blood, and they shine as if overflowing with light from the warehouse.

“Northmund. I really appreciate you. I really don’t care what kind of person or being you are. Just someone who would compensate for my fake life, that in itself was enough.”

“Keuhm.”

“That’s right. Whether humanity is destroyed or this world is a planned dream world doesn’t mean much to me at all. Because I’m the type of person who can’t live with things. I can give you anything as long as you get revenge on those guys.”

I looked at him without saying anything.

Clearly, this person is not a person with special abilities. The mana around was fluctuating.

To be honest, I was a little impressed. What if this old man had superpowers? He probably would have become one of the strongest players.

“So.”

The corners of the old man’s eyes are bent into a half-moon shape.

“Please take revenge on those bastards. Please slaughter them all. Tear them all to shreds and spit where the black magical energy scatters. haha. I just hope it’s not too much of a request.”

“… i get it. If that’s the case.”

I clicked my tongue loudly and answered him.

He’s a pretty self-destructive old man. Rather, was this anger the firewood that could burn this old man?

As I click my tongue and shake my head, I hear Jang Tae-san’s quiet voice once again.

“Of course, this story is a secret. It wouldn’t be any good if these rumors spread now.”

“It’s natural. How could I go around telling stories that would harm me?”

“Then it’s okay. Thank you for your time today.”

He gives me a quick nod with a hearty laugh and walks away.

‘Is this what the coup was for in the first place?’

I thought he was just an old man living by power.

Come to think of it, it was severely distorted from the very beginning.

“Well, that’s not important.”

Muttering quietly, I pick up a gun from the box, assemble it, and insert a magazine.

I can hear dozens of magic stones the size of a little fingernail inside the magazine making a clanking sound.

Is the magic power extracted from here being released?

Sigh!

Let’s pull the trigger. A red ray of light stretched out and created a small hole in the ceiling of the warehouse.

“… .”

To be honest, I was a little disappointed.

The sound effect being fired is also dull, and there is only a red ray of light.

In terms of pure destructive power, it is worse than a bullet made of lead.

Feels like a flashlight shooting red light?

“Well, the targets are monsters.”

Muttering that, I removed the magazine again, put it back in the box, and left the warehouse.

When I looked at the sky, there were a lot of clouds. For some reason, it might rain around evening.

Now the end is truly upon us.

The gears for the final battle are steadily coming together.

And they will come together to decide the future of this world.

Now all that remains is an unknown future that can only be seen with my own eyes.

“That’s why I can’t stop. Sometimes I get a little tired though.”

I smiled and muttered to myself as I looked across the darkening sky.